Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Heavy Backpacks

I was reading the post about Daypacks and thinking about the last two times I was at Whitney Portal. Both Times I saw Men heave their gigantic packs up onto their shoulders. One told me his backpack weighed 60 lbs. In both cases I wondered why a person would feel they need so much "to be prepared"

What is your average pack weight for a three day Mt. Whitney Backpack trip? And did you need to bring so much stuff?


As a clarification: I am not referring to climbers - I know they have to carry ropes, carabiners, cams, helmets, slings and the like. It is hard to keep things light in that world.

I am also referring to the Summer months, when extra snow gear is not needed.

A man I met on the summit came over Shepards pass with his young son: I understood his need to carry 70 lbs.

65lbs. for the Mountaineer's Route up Whitney.

On average. I'm so used to it that I barely even feel it anymore.

And, no, it's not a macho thing at all. I just carry extra gear and back up systems in order to cover any contingency. Especially since I lead groups.

My group member's packs are usually between 30 and 35lbs.

I carry crampons, Ice axe, helmet, trekking poles, rock gloves, wind wall, rain gear, 2 layers of clothes, spare socks, flip flops, 2 man tent w/rain fly, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, medium first aid kid, Steri-Pen water purifier and filter bottle, iodine tablets, emergency blanket, headlamp, Garcia bear canister with food, 3 liter Camelback, multi-tool, rope, carabiners, harnass, monocular, gps, map, compass, whistle, Jetboil and fuel, 1 spoon, glowstick, wag bag, warm hat and warm gloves, sun glasses, 10 essentials w/ a Bic lighter included, sunscreen, bug spray, hiking diary and pen, handkerchief, spare batteries, ID, 2 quarters, $20 cash, and a Glock 23 with Remington Golden Saber rounds.

And at one point or another, in all my years of hiking, I've had reason to use each and every one of the things I carry.

My 3 day pack (for any Sierra trip) is around 30 - 35 lbs. and often take to much gear - just to be on the safe side!
I often see these people with EEnormous packs and wonder what the hell is in them.
A friend of mine had a 60 pack but had very little stuff in it - not compressed - he could not be bothered to buy a new smaller pack.
I think some people think it looks Macho / Cool to have a big pack with all sorts of crap hanging on the outside!

GBS,

28 pounds for my 3-day trip on Whitney. That included the 10 essentials, extra layers, and a fairly luxurious tent (4 lbs). I used all except one layer and intentionally had a little food left over. I never carried more than 1 liter of water.

LonePalm

Without a bear canister usually around 27 pounds, which really makes for a pleasant trip. On my first Sierra trip my pack was over 50 pounds!

My packed weighed in at 21 pounds for 3 days while doing Whitney. Over the years there have been great strides made in making great lightweight gear. I used to do trips with packs that weighed in at around the 60-65 lbs range, the last one while doing the Rae Lakes Loop. I vowed to myself to never hike like that again. You can be safe and sane, if you have the knowledge, and the correct gear to travel in the Sierra's. Not once have I skimped on food, nor have I gotten myself into trouble for not being the right amount of stuff to do a trip.

I have a Granite Gear Vapor Trail backpack that weighs in at 2 lbs. A Henry Shires Tarp Tent that weighs 1 lbs. 6 ounces or I use my SMD Gatewood Cape that weighs in at 11 ounces and doubles as a poncho. My sleeping bag is a Western Mountaineering Ultralight that weighs 2 lbs. It can be done....very easily. You just have to make the decision and gain experience.

I'm with Lonepalm. I can get everything necessary and still come in under 30Lbs. One of my favorite new gear items is an REI Flash UL summit pack that weighs half a pound. It functions as a stuff sack up to trail camp, I turn it inside out and put extra cloths in it at night and it makes a great pillow, and then I throw my hydration reservoir in it with some food for the summit hike. Yeah, it's an extra half pound but it feels great to not take anything heavier up to trail crest and leave it there. I used to carry more liquid, tent and food than I needed to and my pack would weigh upwards of 40Lbs typically. What a difference 10 - 15Lbs less makes!

OK, how could I NOT post something here?? The first trip up the MT was 53#: synth bag, 1-man tent, Garcia can, those packets of Indian Food that you boil-in-a-bag (already hydrated), diary, magazine for reading, oh-good-god how many little piddly-sh** things crammed in my pop's old hand-me-down ex-frame.

My gear has changed quite a bit in the past few years, but the lightest I've ever taken up is 38#?!?!? At this point I don't seem to mind it, but I see some of my patients now and wonder where my knees will be in 20, 30 years.

I have a running joke with my friends that because I TOUCH something it becomes HEAVIER.

Getting proper gear is part of the preparation for ANY trip, not just MW. I think of the forecast for this weekend, with increased chances of T-storms, and you bet I'd be taking all my rain gear. I also know that getting really lightweight takes a LOT of money: those Western Mountaineering sleeping bags, while outstanding, are far from inexpensive. I've tried buying new gear, but somehow things just don't seem to change (hence the theory above about things getting heavier).

I am also lucky that the packs I have fit me like a glove, so that when I do need to shoulder the load, it sits right on my hips and legs where it belongs. I think light or heavy, the most important thing is the fit of your pack. It DOES PAY to shop around and try EVERYTHING on with a fairly significant weight in it. After all, who knows what you might end up having to carry, even if you start light?

Ah, Friday's ramble. Ya'll have a great weekend.

-L

PS: I'll be carrying a 60+ pounder over Kearsarge in a few weeks while helping four friends resupply on the JMT. All their food, the cans, and my stuff for four days should be interesting! Who the hell needs a mule when they have a Pack Moose??

Interesting. I'm a frequent reader of the forum, but post infrequently - this brought me out of my shell.

I was fortunate enough to hike Whitney with Bob Rockwell once back in 2002. When we arrived at the portal, he busted out a scale and weighed our packs. Mine was about 48 lbs as I recall and my friend's was 60. I think Bob's was less than 15? (going off memory). We were doing a multi-day trip.

Anyway, after speaking to him at length and following the advice he had put together in an excellent Word document, I routinely carried a very light pack for a couple years afterward.

Then, I started hiking with my 5 yr old son. I switched to an OBSCENELY heavy pack and carry everything possible. My pace is pathetic, but it's also somewhat enjoyable in that the end goal isn't as important as the journey. I do not carry electronics, but I do carry things such as matchlight charcoal and makeshift grills, games, toys, etc...

I can't recommend such practice for Whitney, but - if you have young children - pick a less ambitious route, load up a OBSCENE pack and have a go. You might like it.

I digress...

Hey Laura, you're my friend, right?

So next time I need a resupply, I can call you, right?

BTW, my pack for my recent 7-day JMT hike started out at 32 Lbs, and half of that was the Bearvault and food. I saw a hiker set up his Six Moon Designs 11 oz Gatewood Cape parka/tent, that is going to be my next purchase.

Nice post. I agree!!


The thing with hiking light is the amount of enjoyment I have not having such a heavy pack. By no means am I an over zealous type when it comes to this style. BUT I do check the weight of everything that I purchase and I make sure that everything that goes inside my pack is something that is needed. There are times however that I like to bring something a little extra. On a 5 day trip it might be a flask of Single Malt or a grill to do some fireside cooking. Each to their own, its just that I hike lightweight. If others ask questions on the trail I try to be as helpful as possible and answer questions without coming off as a know it all

Steve, the Gatewood Cape is my go to shelter. I have the inner bug tent that SMD makes too. Both are awesome!!!!In fact it is drying outside right now and about to go into my pack for a Yosemite trip this weekend.

They may have been climbers!

I was weighing what I plan to take to on my whitney trip in August. It was 55lbs, but with close to 20lbs of climbing gear.

Because most of my trips are climbing oriented, There is little I can do about that weight (beside becomeing a free soloist, which is highly unlikely). I am trying to get my base weight down under 20lbs though, that would be awesome...40lbs for an overnight climbing trip! Maybe one day.

My 4 day Cottonwood Lake trip a few years ago I was at 45lbs
Last year 5 day High Sierra Trail trip 40lbs
This years 2 day 1 night overnighter 26lbs.

Not going to mention I'm 20lbs overweight though.

Re-edited my post for more detail.

Just like non-climbers you can choose gear that emphasizes weight reduction. It will probably cost money. You can also leave out non-essentials although it takes experience and sometimes a little nerve to decide what to leave behind.

Climbers can take ultra-light carabiners, spagetti slings, a skinny rope, foam based helmets, aluminum ice axes, 6 pt aluminum crampons. Consider a 50m rope instead of a 60m. Mix in some passive gear with all of those cams. And pare down the rack. You probably take more than you need.

For three days of backpacking it shouldn't be difficult to have a pack that weighs about 20lbs, +/- 5lbs. Many people go much, much lighter.

Leave the tent and stove and you can reduce further, but at some point it becomes obsessive. Afterall, hiking into Trail Camp or Iceberg Lake isn't that hard even with a 50lb pack. So why not flip the whole thing on its head and take luxury items? A bottle of wine. A backpacker oven to make pizza. An espresso maker. Steaks and a barbeque.

A Land Rover.

Why pack it in at all? Don't they have someone who will do helicopter supply runs up there for you?

mines around 55 it may look a bit jumbled, but remember you are the one humping the pack, not someone else. bring what ever you are confortable with

My first MR trip I carried 62lbs. I was with 3 other guys. We carried a NF VE-25 and a 3 man Bibler. We also carried sausages and pasta for our celebration dinner after we peaked. I've written here before that those 62lbs almost pulled me off the E-ledges. My recent Shasta trip we had crampons, ice ax, winter gear and my pack probably weighed about 40lbs. This year's Langley/MR trip I'll be carrying at the most 25-30lbs.